1. Field of the Invention
In many states, hunting is, or is becoming, a major sport. Whereas food was the original objective in the beginning, in more modern times a trophy has become a preoccupation. Contests are run and, in some instances, considerable prize money is at stake.
As the deer woods becomes more crowded, and the duck blinds are in constant demand, gun safety has become a major concern. Programs directed toward gun safety are legion, and trigger locks and the like are readily available in various shapes and sizes. Such devices are relatively useless, however, unless they are used.
While the market for hunters is proliferated with gun rests and sighting devices, there is a paucity of devices which would permit a hunter to transport and store his rifle or shotgun is a safe manner, while not inhibiting his or her immediate access to that weapon should an opportunity arise.
It is to this circumstance to which the present invention is focused.
2. Overview of the Prior Art
Perhaps the most closely allied art found relative to accomplishment of the objectives of the present invention is Vilotti U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,177. Vilotti contemplated a magnet for holding fishing rods and guns in an upright position in a saddle leaning against a motor vehicle.
The Vilotti device has several rather obvious deficiencies as they relate to gun safety, the first of which is where do you put the Vilotti device when there is no ferro-magnetic surface on which to mount it. Vilotti solves that issue by using a backing strip. However, does a hunter want to have the device stuck to his vehicle, or even his boat? In 1973, lack of a magnetic surface was possibly not much of a problem, but in this day and age, when many boats and ATVs are primarily fibre glass or aluminum, it is a definite drawback.
Vilotti has other deficiencies such as the fact that the saddle, or slot, 19 is open. That enhances the prospect that the gun or the like being magnetically held, could be knocked out of the slot inadvertently, with potentially disastrous consequences.
Further, permanent magnets are easily damaged by striking a hard surface and, with a lessened magnetic pull, the more likely it becomes that the weapon could be inadvertently dislodged, or fall from its roost.
Wernimont, in his U.S. Pat. No. 3,361,265, has a slightly different approach for the protection and display of a gun. By mounting the gun in an essentially horizontal orientation on an adjustable saddle, it would not be as prone to falling as it would if it were vertically oriented, but it is fraught with safety concerns that would not make the device acceptable to the sport today.
As suggested above, there are several gun rests and sighting devices, which are little more than pillows, e.g., Walker III U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,185, and, perhaps, to a lesser extent, but with the same general objective, Pilgrim et. al U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,330. Finally, Zekas U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,159 provides a sighting device having some manual adjustability.